It’s back to the drawing board for Google after Judge Denny Chin yesterday rejected its book digitisation agreement – but the internet company remains determined to make the plan work

Whether the search engine will return to negotiations or appeal the ruling is not yet known, though the parties involved expressed interest in reaching an agreement.

“This is clearly disappointing, but we'll review the Court's decision and consider our options,” said Google in a statement by managing counsel Hilary Ware. “Regardless of the outcome, we'll continue to work to make more of the world's books discoverable online through Google Books and Google eBooks."

On behalf of The Association of American Publishers, Macmillan chief executive officer John Sargent said that, while the decision “is not the final approval we were hoping for, it provides clear guidance to all parties as to what modifications are necessary for its approval”.

The denial comes as a surprise for many who have watched the dispute evolve into what became the Amended Settlement Agreement (ASA).

Judge Denny Chin reluctantly granted eight more weeks of negotiations in the Google Books case today, but warned the parties he would not delay much longer​

“It’s been a long time,” said Judge Denny Chin, a former district court judge who took the case with him when he was elevated to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. “Are we ever going to get there?”

Last month, Chin granted both sides more time at a status hearing that lasted only a few minutes. This morning, he repeatedly reminded counsel the case has lasted six years.

Speaking for all parties, Michael Boni of Boni & Zack and counsel for the Authors Guild, said as recently as Monday “high-level meetings among principals” had taken place. But it has been difficult to resolve the “very complicated, highly complex” issues involved.